Crayon Physics Deluxe

I’m slowly starting to become a fan of games created by independent developers or small game studios – simply because they are usually quick to download and install, don’t require a mammoth PC to run, and often concentrate purely on gameplay than trying to woo the player over with over the top visual effects. One such game is Crayon Physics, which has been talked about for quite a while now. Though it may be a game that you’d expect a very young audience to play, it still holds some rather amusing puzzles that are sure to get your grey cells going.

The basic formula of Crayon Physics is so beautifully simple, that it’s an almost instant charmer. In each level of the game, you have a red ball and a yellow star- the objective is to simply get the ball to touch the star to clear the level. Now how you do this is entirely up to you, which is where the game’s true genius lies. Using your mouse, you can draw bridges, ropes, pulleys and anything your imagination can think of, and watch it come to life in glorious crayon-styled vision. So if you need to cross a large gap for example, simply draw a line across to create a bridge. But rather than confine the game to a ‘connect-the-dots’ style of gameplay, Crayon Physics (as the name suggests) injects real laws of physics into the game, dealing with weight, mass, acceleration, and almost anything you can think of. For example, in one level the ball is on one end of a balanced catapult, and you have to draw a weight on the other end in order to launch the ball. If you draw a small weight, the catapult hardly moves, but if you draw the same sized weight higher up in the air, then the falling weight will push down on the catapult with enough force to launch the ball successfully. So it’s not as simple as drawing randomly sized objects in the hope that you’ll magically send the ball flying in the right direction – you need to spend some time planning out what objects you want to draw and how to use them to solve the puzzle, since you can’t really move or manipulate anything in the environment apart from nudging the ball left or right with your mouse buttons. It’s a sweet little formula that can yield some truly quirky solutions, as every level can be solved in any number of imaginative ways.

The presentation of the game is excellent – you’re instantly reminded of the crayon doodles you used to do as a child and wished that they would come to life on the page. The game’s saving grace is that you don’t even need exceptional drawing skills to get through a level, though a steady hand surely helps. The game is better to play on a touch-screen monitor or Tablet PC, since you can draw neater shapes and lines, but there’s no other change in gameplay. The game features a rather nice soundtrack which doesn’t get in the way, and can be turned off if desired. For the truly adventurous doodlers amongst you, the game includes an easy to navigate level designer, which you can use to design your own crafty puzzles and then share with other gamers via the game’s website.

Crayon Physics is an example of a game that is not only original, but tremendously accessible – younger gamers will have a lot of fun watching their 2D creations come to life, while adults will enjoy trying to crack some of the harder levels. At times you’ll be left wondering how exactly the game calculates the seemingly impossible physics behind the various shapes to create a truly wonderful gaming experience

Final Fantasy XIII – New Trailer

Square Enix has released a new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII. The trailer shows new characters, big machines, explosions, pretty ladies and also some real time gameplay footage. Check it out:

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin Goes Gold

Monolith has announced that their upcoming horror action game F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin has gone gold and will be releasing on Febraury 13th, 2009 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. They have also released a new trailer in this joyous occasion called ‘Intel Debriefing’ which recaps the storyline from the original:

Halo Wars DLC a Possibility

Ensemble Studios, developers of the upcoming Halo-based RTS Halo Wars, today said that downloadable content for the RTS is certainly a possibility and it is something they are looking into. This comes even after the studio had announced its closure last year.

Speaking to Electricpig, Lead Producer Jason Pace said, “We are committed to supporting the franchise [and] additional downloadable content is something we’re looking in to [but] there’re no definite plans yet.”

Halo Wars is scheduled to release on February 27, 2009 exclusively for the Xbox 360. A demo will also be released prior to the release on February 5th.

Gears of War 2 Gold Lancer Free Update

Envied your friend’s shiny and spectacular Gold Lancer, because he bought the game new and you didn’t? Well, envy no more. Epic Games has released the Gold Lancer on Xbox Live Marketplace as a free download for everyone after keeping it exclusive for folks who bought the game new.

Well, but obviously this was going to happen. The Flashback Map Pack, which was also only available for new buyers, was made available for everyone to purchase of the Marketplace.

You can download the Gold Lancer update here.

Update:
Oops! A Microsoft rep has said that the Gold Lancer was made available by mistake. The update will be removed by an upcoming fix. "We’re currently attempting a fix that will expire all codes that were unexpectedly released in error through Xbox LIVE Marketplace," the representative noted.

Sony denies PSP2 rumors, slams IGN

IGN recently cited, with several credible sources in tow, that Sony PSP 2 is in the works and will feature a touch screen, Bluetooth support, hard drive and GPS. Today, Sony has not only denied the rumor but also slammed IGN to speculate on such “nonsense”.

"Clearly, being a quiet time of year, many, what we thought to be credible websites, are making up stories about PSP2, and how it allows you to teleport across the globe, travel through time, and will be powered by the horns of baby rhinoceroses," Sony explained. "Hopefully, you can sense a mild tone of sarcasm, which should hopefully indicate how ‘on the money’ IGN are. Needless to say, we don’t comment on rumour or speculation, but this is nonsense."

Ouch. But let’s see who has the last laugh. There is no smoke without fire.

No Fable II for PC Planned

Fable II, last year’s acclaimed RPG from Lionhead Studios for the Xbox 360, has met with great success. And so obviously, with the said success and the usual shift of successful exclusive Xbox 360 games to the PC, and since the original did come out for the platform, we expected Fable II to grace the PC platform too. But a recent statement from a Lionhead employee has crushed any hopes for such.

The rumor of a PC version first started when a blog called whatifgaming.com received a word from the developers stating that with the recent success of the game on the Xbox 360 platform, a PC version is “likely imminent”.

But “Woody”, a Lionhead employee stated via the official forums that the developers are not working on a PC version yet. "We’re not working on a PC version of Fable II," he said, adding that if this changes “we’ll make sure you know about it”.

Oh come on now Lionhead. A decent port to PC won’t hurt at all!

The Godfather II – 8 new Screenshots

We have updated our gallery with 8 new screenshots from Godfather II, Electronic Art’s upcoming mafia crime action adventure. The game is scheduled to release on February 27th, 2009 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Screenshots:

New Track Pack for GH: World Tour in Feb

Press release:
Having already delivered fans over 70 rockin’ downloadable tracks for Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour since the game’s October 2008 launch, three new Track Packs spanning a variety of musical genres and multiple artists will be available throughout February 2009 to Guitar Hero® fans across the globe.

On February 12th, rockers Incubus, The Shins and Ryan Adams turn off the amps and electric guitars in the Acoustic Track Pack. Coming to Guitar Hero World Tour are Incubus’ “Drive,” The Shins’ “New Slang” and Ryan Adams’ GRAMMY® Award nominated version of “Wonderwall.”

Following their debut appearance on disc in Guitar Hero World Tour with “Band on the Run,” Paul McCartney’s Wings return to the Guitar Hero stage with the Wings Track Pack. “Junior’s Farm,” “Hi Hi Hi” and “Jet,” three top-ten hits from the band’s diverse catalog of music, will be available for download on February 19th.

GRAMMY Award winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Academy Award nominee Bob Seger will make his Guitar Hero downloadable content debut with the Bob Seger Track Pack. After making an appearance in ads highlighting different celebrities jamming on instruments from Guitar Hero World Tour, Seger’s legendary hit “Old Time Rock and Roll” joins "Her Strut" and a live-recording of "Get Out of Denver" in the Bob Seger Track Pack, available for download on February 26th.

The Acoustic, Wings and Bob Seger Track Packs will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $5.49. The songs in each Track Pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Wii™ for 200 Wii Points.

Fallout 3 Operation: Anchorage DLC Now Available

Bethesda today has released the first downloadable content for its awesome RPG Fallout 3. The DLC is called Operation: Anchorage, weighs around 380 MB and cost 800 MS Points. The DLC is available for both Xbox 360 and PC.

Story:
"The Brotherhood Outcasts are trying to acquire advanced military technology, and the only way to open the vault containing these relics is by completing a tactical simulation only you can enter. In Operation: Anchorage you will re-live the epic Battle of Anchorage from Fallout lore. Find your way into the simulation, stripped of resources, and survive within the rules set up by the simulation’s creators. The Chinese red army is everywhere, so secure the surrounding mountain side and fight your way into the Chinese base."

Achievements:
With new quests come new achievements. There are four new achievements for completing quests in Operation: Anchorage. The four new achievements will add 100 points to your gamerscore.

    * Aiding the Outcasts (20)
    * The Guns of Anchorage (20)
    * Paving the Way (20)
    * Operation: Anchorage (40)

Screenshots:

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